Sharing the same campus as the senior hockey team in Bengaluru has been the biggest boon, says midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad as Indian players prepare to defend the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup title when the tournament takes place on November 24 in Bhubaneswar. will begin.
Guided by coach Harendra Singh, the Indian colts won the Junior World Cup in 2016 by defeating Belgium in Lucknow, and several players graduated at the senior level, helping the county end its 41-year goal drought by winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Helped to finish.
Both the men’s senior and junior teams are based at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center here and Prasad, who is eligible to participate in the Junior World Cup, said on Monday that getting insights from seniors on playing under pressure helped the colts Was. in their preparations.
“Our preparation is going really well and every player is giving his 100 percent on the field during practice. Sharing the same campus as the senior team has been the biggest boon as we have been able to practice a lot against them. We also spend a lot of time talking to seniors about playing under pressure and then the experiences they share are valuable,” said Prasad, who is part of the probables group for the Junior World Cup.
India are placed in Pool B along with Canada, France and Poland. Other teams include Belgium, Malaysia, South Africa and Chile in Pool A, Netherlands, Spain, Korea and the United States in Pool C, while Germany, Argentina, Pakistan and Egypt are in Pool D.
Talking about the level of competition, Prasad said, “No doubt it will be a tough competition but we will continue to stick to the mantra of taking one-on-one matches. Our first priority is to top the group and get the quarters.” Have to make it to the finals.”
Prasad said the players are highly motivated and eager to play at their home ground in Bhubaneswar. “Though there will be no spectators, there is a lot of enthusiasm among the players to experience the facilities at the Kalinga Stadium. Personally, for me too, I never got the opportunity to play in the 2016 Junior World Cup because I got injured and eventually never made the team. I look forward to using my experience with the senior team to play my best hockey in the Junior World Cup. Our focus is on reaching the podium.”
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